Tasting Notes
Vinous 90
Slightly exotic scents of ripe peach, honey and truffle; not as pristine as most of the more recent vintages. In a fat, plush style but with an edge of acidity as well as a slight alcoholic warmth to its flavors of very ripe stone fruits, honey and spices. Finishes with a balsamic quality, a hint of porcini and a faint bitterness. This wine was distinctly fresher and firmer at the outset but today it’s missing the classic higher-pitched mineral and citrus notes of the vineyard. Not a great showing; if this bottle is representative, it’s a wine to consume over the next several years. This was a tricky and unusual vintage in which Raveneau and William Fèvre benefited by harvesting very early (even before growers on the Côte de Beaune began to pick their Chardonnay!), before rain and humidity triggered the spread of rot, but Isabelle Raveneau told me that the estate did not bring in its Montée de Tonnerre until September 19, which according to my memory (I happened to visit the estate that year on the first day of their harvest) was a good five days after it began to pick its grand crus.
Anticipated maturity: 2019-2024
Robert Parker 93
The 2006 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre from Domaine Raveneau is maturing very nicely. The nose is strict and correct at first, gradually opening up and offering tantalizing glimpses of fennel and even a faint scent of lobster bisque. The palate is precise and linear on the entry, and then fans out with careless abandon, slightly honeyed towards the finish that perhaps shaves away some of the tension it would have otherwise possessed. But it remains a wonderful Chablis that has ten or 20 years ahead.
Anticipated maturity: 2015-2030
